LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s triple Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty suffered a cut over his left eye in a fight with team mate Luke Greenbank at a training camp in England, British newspapers reported on Tuesday.
The Sun said the 28-year-old 50 and 100 metres breaststroke world record holder angered Greenbank by slapping him on the backside and making a joke about his partner, Olympic gold medallist Anna Hopkin.
Peaty and Hopkin were part of the team that won the 4×100 mixed medley relay gold in Tokyo in 2021 while Peaty and Greenbank won 4×100 medley relay silver at the same Games.
British Swimming confirmed there had been an incident between the two at the camp in Loughborough that was “quickly and effectively resolved by the athletes involved and the staff present at the session”.
Peaty did not require any stitches after what his representatives described as a “minor altercation”.
The eight times world champion is working towards next year’s Paris Olympics, where he will try and win a third successive 100m breaststroke gold after taking time out to focus on his mental health.
He has previously spoken about periods of depression and problems with alcohol.
Peaty missed the 2022 world championships in Budapest after fracturing a bone in his foot and also missed the 2023 world championships in Fukuoka last July.
He said in March that he was tired and not enjoying the sport as much as before.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ken Ferris)
